Las Vegas jury orders drug companies to pay $500M in punitive damages in hepatitis C case

Jury awards $500M punitive damages in hep C case

LAS VEGAS — A jury in Las Vegas has ordered two drug companies to pay a combined $500 million in punitive damages in the first of hundreds of civil cases stemming from a hepatitis C outbreak two years ago.

The Clark County District Court jury on Friday ordered Teva Parenteral Medicines to pay $356 million to Henry Chanin (CHAN’-in) and his wife, Lorraine.

Baxter Healthcare Services was ordered to pay the couple $144 million.

The punitive damages come on top of more than $5 million already awarded to the couple by the same jury. It found the companies responsible for breach of implied warranty and failure to warn.

Health officials have blamed reusing vials of the anesthetic propofol for infecting patients with the incurable liver disease.